


Wind

by yankeetooter



Category: Chernobyl (TV 2019)
Genre: Being Lost, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:55:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21687949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yankeetooter/pseuds/yankeetooter
Summary: The wind is changing, and Valery takes charge.
Relationships: Valery Legasov/Boris Shcherbina
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Wind

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, this one's not so cheerful...

Boris, Pikalov, and Tarakanov were away for the day attending a meeting. This made little difference to the soldiers - they had their orders and continued to do their work diligently as always. Valery, however, missed Boris' presence. There was something calming about the man that touched the depths of Valery's core, and when Boris wasn't around, that calm disintegrated quickly.

Valery had stepped outside for a cigarette when he noticed something odd. Since they'd arrived in Chernobyl, the wind had been blowing toward Pripyat. Indeed, that was the reason Valery had been so adamant about getting the residents of the town evacuated, something that had finally been accomplished two days ago. Of course, eventually they would have to evacuate further out from Chernobyl. Valery knew that, even if the upper echelon in Moscow didn't yet. But at least now the most vulnerable area was now empty of residents.

Valery looked at one of the flags snapping in the wind. Oh no...it couldn't be! The wind had started blowing due east, taking Pripyat out of its sights, but putting one of the smaller villages not too far off in danger. What should he do? Suddenly, Valery felt Boris' absence more than ever. He was used to Boris making the decisions of what to do, even if those decisions were based off of information from Valery. And Pikalov and Tarakanov were not in camp either, so he couldn't turn to them for advice.

There was no time to waste...but, as it turned out, no available vehicles either. Consulting a map, Valery saw it was about three miles to the small village now targeted by the wind. He'd have to walk the distance and warn the villagers. There was nothing else to be done.

When he tried to round up a few soldiers to go with him, they looked skeptical. General Pikalov would be back in a few hours and then he and Deputy Chairman Shcherbina could decide what to do. Meanwhile, they had their orders.

Thus it was that Valery set out alone, taking a short cut through the woods to save some time. But when he arrived in the village, most everyone had left already, having panicked at the sight of the smoke plume heading towards them. There were still a few elderly grandmothers around who had staunchly refused to leave their homes and livestock behind, but everyone else had left. And the few cars the villagers had owned were long gone as well. 

Valery spent some time pleading with the residents who had stayed behind, but it was no use. He'd have to go back to camp and wait for some soldiers to come out with him to round them up. 

Glancing up, he realized it was much later than he'd realized. The sun was almost down, and it was getting much colder. The wind too was blowing much stronger than earlier, adding to the already present chill. 

And here is where Valery made a mistake. For, anxious to get back to camp, he decided to cut through the woods once again to save time, despite the worsening weather and the deepening twilight. By the time he realized that might not have been the best decision, it was too late to turn back and find the road. He'd have to keep going.

The wind was blowing fiercely through the trees now and Valery blew on his hands every few moments to warm them. He stumbled into a clearing, and looked around confusingly. He hadn't come upon a clearing on his trip out. Was he going the right way? 

He set out again. angling off a bit in what he thought was the correct direction. Suddenly he startled a buck, who came crashing through the undergrowth towards him. Valery had scant seconds to react, but managed to avoid a full on collision. As it was the buck grazed him as it ran past, spinning him around and knocking him down. 

When Valery got up, he realized he had lost all sense of direction of where he should be headed. Picking what he hoped was the right direction, he continued on, not realizing he was headed deeper into the woods.

\------------------------------------------

Finally, shortly before sundown, Boris, Pikalov and Tarakanov arrived back at camp. The two military men went off to check on the soldiers' progress, while Boris headed to the work trailer, anxious to see Valery again and see how the day had gone.

When there was no sign of Valery, Boris went to see if he was with the soldiers, checking on their progress. His heart skipped a beat when one of the soldiers explained how Valery had set out on foot hours ago to warn the next village over about the wind change. The village was only a few miles away, so Valery should have been back by now. At the very least, they should have spotted him on the road on the way back from their meeting. Boris' stomach roiled. Something was very wrong.

In moments, Boris had rounded up a search party with the aid of Pikalov. Armed with flashlights, they set off in the direction of the village, cordoning off sections of the forest to search. Meanwhile, Tarakanov supervised several jeeps traveling along the road, to keep an eye out for Valery in case he was taking the road back.

\-------------------------

Valery shivered uncontrollably in the vicious wind. The night was nearly pitch black now as the encroaching smoke plume had blocked the moon from view. He stumbled more and more, branches slapping him in the face constantly. His glasses were smeared with sap, making walking even more difficult. Not seeing the dead deer in the dark, Valery tripped and went down. He quickly scrambled away from the carcass, as the animal had probably succumbed to radiation. When he tried to stand up again, his ankle gave out and he tumbled to the ground. 

Suddenly continuing on seemed hopeless. He couldn't see where he was going and now he was crippled. He should have arrived back at camp by now, or at least intersected the road. He was helplessly lost, hurt, and freezing cold. Crawling to the leeward side of a large tree, he curled up, trying to get warm. He would never last until daylight at this rate.

\----------------------------

Boris traveled the woods easily, his days as a soldier coming back to him as if it were only yesterday. Every once in a while, he would stop and call Valery's name, but he got no response. He was growing increasingly worried. Valery was no soldier, trained to survive outside, The plump scientist was a walking disaster even on a paved road, let alone in the middle of the woods. He needed to find him fast. Soon his long legs and his desperation to find Valery had put him miles ahead of the other searchers.

\--------------------------

Valery startled out of his doze. He thought he had heard someone calling his name, but he heard nothing now. It must have been a dream. He knew he should try to keep moving, but he was so very tired. Besides, what was the use? He had no idea which direction to go.

\---------------------------

Boris came across the deer carcass, noticing something odd near the dead animal. The leaves and underbrush were crushed here...yes! And there was a footprint! Boris began searching the area in expanding circles, with the carcass at the center. It wasn't long before he stumbled upon Valery, half conscious with the cold.

"Legasov! Legasov, wake up!" Boris gave a smart (but not too hard) slap to Valery's cheek, finally bringing him around. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Valery was near tears as he explained all that had happened, down to his hurting his ankle and getting lost. "And I didn't know what to do, and I was so cold!"

Boris looked down affectionately at this man who had plagued him since that first meeting at the Kremlin. "It's okay, we're going to get you back to camp where you can get warm."

Valery looked blearily at Boris. "My ankle...I must have hurt it when I fell. I tried to walk, but it won't hold my weight."

Boris chuckled. Helping Valery to a standing position, he suddenly swept him up in his arms. Carrying Valery, he walked confidently through the dark woods, not missing a step.

"Deputy Chairman..."

"Call me Boris. I'm carrying you through the woods, so I think we can use each other's first names."

"B-Boris", Valery stammered, still shy about using Boris' first name after that first day on the helicopter. "How do you know where you're going? It's so dark!"

Ah, Valery, once a soldier, always a soldier. This is nothing compared to some of the things I had to do when I was in the army."

Valery nodded, comforted by Boris' confidence as always. He was so tired and Boris' strong arms around him made all his fears of just a short while ago seem silly now. He leaned his head into Boris' chest and dozed off, and thus it was that he missed the tender smile on Boris' face directed towards him.

\--------------------------

Once back at camp, Boris supervised Valery getting cleaned up and warm, wrapping his ankle himself. 

"I should send you back to Moscow, injured as you are," he declared, although he wasn't sure what he would do without Valery around.

"No, Dep-...I mean, Boris, there's too much to be done. I can't leave!"

Boris sighed in resignation, secretly relieved. "Okay, but no more hikes through the woods, no more running off by yourself to save the day, even when you're healed up! Is that understood?" Boris' voice was stern and gruff, but concern shone from his eyes. 

Valery, meeting his gaze, saw and understood the silent statement. He nodded his agreement, warmed by the thought that Boris really cared about him. The man was full of surprises, starting from that moment when he had stood up for Valery in front of Bryukhanov and Fomin. It seemed that their relationship had changed direction much like the wind.


End file.
